Turnabout Holiday
by Stark Maximum
Summary: In this stunningly unique-named holiday fic, Phoenix Wright doesn't believe in Santa, much to everyone's shock. Also, we learn about Wright's most cherished childhood toy commercial, AKA kid's show. And it is amazing. Also, Gumshoe shows up.


_No, that can't be right._

Phoenix Wright raised an eyebrow at his computer's calender. _It can't be December 24th today, can it? Wasn't it just last week we were having Thanksgiving dinner? This has gotta be wrong..._ "Maya!"

"Yeah, Nick?" Maya Fey poked her head out from the next room.

"What's today's date?"

"What? You forgot TODAY?!" Maya gasped in shock; with Maya, Wright could never quite tell if it was mock or not. "Nick, it's December 24th! Christmas Eve!"

"What?!" Wright rose from his desk and started to panic. "It-it can't already be Christmas Eve! H-how did it sneak up on me like that?!"

"Geez, Nick," Maya said, putting her hand to her mouth to hide her laughter, "you're acting like you forgot to get everyone presents or something!"

Wright turned to face Maya and grinned widely, but sheepishly, putting his hand on the back of his head. Maya slowly put her hand down and stiffened in shock.

"You DID forget to get everyone presents!"

"I didn't mean to!" Wright whined in defense. Shaking her head, Maya smiled tauntingly at the man.

"Boy, Nick, you sure are lucky to have Santa picking up your slack."

"Yeah, Santa," Wright scoffed, rolling his eyes, which elected a glare from the young woman.

"What was that all about, Nick?"

"What was what all about?"

"That little scoff you did! You know you shouldn't disrespect Santa like that!"

Wright put a hand to his chin, pondering. _Maya seems a bit more vehement about this than she usually is...but could that mean that..._ "Maya, do you still believe in Santa?"

"How could you ask such a stupid question, Nick?"

"Well, I just wasn't..."

"Of course I believe in him! What kind of cynical jerk wouldn't?!"

"Gah!" Wright shouted in surprise. "I can't believe this! Maya, you're almost 20 years old!"

"Yeah, so?"

"Geez, I'd expect this from Pearls, maybe, but not you! You're a mature young adult and you still believe in Santa Claus?"

"You're a kind, caring man and you DON'T believe in Santa Claus?!" Maya countered, crossing her arms.

"I've known Santa was just pretend ever since I was a little kid," Wright said matter-of-factly. His statement barely sunk in before Maya gasped in abject terror.

"A kid who didn't believe in Santa?! What happened in your childhood to make something like that happen?!"

"It wasn't really something that happ--"

"C'mon, Nick! Tell me what happened!"

"Ahh...w-well...if you must know...back when I was a kid, the big cool thing was the Mega Merging Power Pals. They were a group of three teenage friends who, when evil attacked, would become costumed superheroes and work together to take down their foes. It was the coolest thing when I was in school. Well, Larry had the Yellow Power Pal, and Edgeworth had gotten the Red Power Pal," he reminisced.

"Wow, Mr. Edgeworth got in on it?" Maya said, smirking.

"Well, he used to say he just got it to get us to stop bugging him, but we both knew it was his favorite toy. Anyway, it was up to me to get the Blue Power Pal so we could play together and merge the figures together into one awesome giant robot,"

"Wow!" Maya gasped. "That sounds so awesome!"

"It totally was!" Wright said, now laughing and smiling. But then his eyes fell and his smile vanished. "But that Christmas...I asked Santa for the Blue Power Pal...and I never got it. It was just about the only toy I didn't get," he sighed.

"Oh, Nick..." Maya reached over to place a reassuring hand on Wright's.

"Larry and Edgeworth were both pretty upset, but neither of them were as upset as I was. I think it was about then that I realized Santa wasn't real," he concluded.

"Wow, Nick," Maya sighed, "it must be hard, growing up, believing something untrue like that."

"Yeah, it w--wait, you mean my belief that Santa wasn't real was untrue?"

"Well duh! Of course Santa's real, Nick!"

"Maya, did my story have any point whatsoever?"

"Yeah, it let me know you were a bad kid who didn't deserve a Blue Power Pal!"

Wright gasped in horror. "You take that back! I was a perfect little angel!" But his demand fell on deaf ears as Maya danced around the room laughing and singing about what a bad little boy Wright was. "Maya, stop that! Maya! MAYAAA!!"

The door opened all of a sudden; Wright and Maya were too busy yelling and fighting to hear it being knocked on, and with a large, bounding stride, Dick Gumshoe entered the room completely unannounced.

"Merry Christmas, pals!" The large man bellowed, waving his arms in the air. "Are you guys excited or what?!"

"We're totally excited, Gumshoe!" Maya cheered, "Except for the spoilsport Nick over here. He's saying Santa isn't real!"

Gumshoe's face almost paled as he stared in Wright in utter horror. "N-N-N-Not...REAL?! What's wrong with you, pal?! You tryin'a get coal for the rest of your life?!" He shouted at the facepalming attorney.

"Is the entire world going insane this year?! Now YOU think Santa's real, Gumshoe?"

"I don't think about nothin', pal!" Gumshoe exclaimed, smiling. When he didn't say anything afterward, Wright hid a smirk behind his hand.

_He's got that right,_ he thought to himself.

"What?" Gumshoe looked about. "What're you two staring at me for? Did I say something?"

"You don't think at all, do you, Gumshoe?" Maya snickered.

"Oh! No! Not that! I'm just sayin'...I don't think Santa's real, I KNOW he's real!"

"Alright Gumshoe," Wright sighed, sitting back and bracing himself, "tell me why Santa's real."

"Well, obviously! I'm one of Santa's li'l helpers!"

If Gumshoe said anything after that, it was largely ignored when Wright fell over onto the floor laughing hysterically. Both Maya and Gumshoe glared angrily in Wright's direction, seething silently as he cackled and guffawed on his office floor pathetically. When Wright showed no signs of letting up, Gumshoe sighed and looked to Maya.

"Well, I just came over here to give ya'll some seasons greetings...at least you appreciate it, Maya."

"Of course I do, Gumshoe," reassured Maya, smiling softly at the scruffy detective, "I know Wright will too once he gets ahold of himself."

"That's nice'a ya to say, Maya. You two stay safe and have a very merry Christmas," he said, waving and leaving through the door he barged into only moments before. It was only when Gumshoe had removed himself did Wright sit up from his ball of convulsions and attempted to compose himself.

"That was so rude, Nick!" Maya wailed, which somehow caused Wright to start giggling again.

"Oh, come on, Maya," the defense attorney snickered, "that has to be the most ridiculous thing Gumshoe has ever said! And this is GUMSHOE we're talking about!" Just the thought of the myriad of mind-boggling goofy things the man had been quoted as saying sent Wright into another laughing fit. Irked, Maya stomped her sandaled foot on the ground.

"Well, fine! If you're going to be that way, I'm going to get some sleep before Santa comes!" she shouted, storming back from where she came in a rage. Standing up at last, Wright stared at the door she left through and shook his head.

_Everyone's going crazy. I guess that's all to be expected from those two goofs._ Wright stretched and let loose a massive yawn from the bowels of his throat. _I've worked so hard today...I think it's time to crash on the couch in preparation for tomorrow._ Kneeling down and reaching under the couch, he pulled out his trusty blanket and tossed it onto the couch in a makeshift bed. Kicking off his shoes and sliding under the covers, it took surprsingly little time for the overworked defense attorney to lose himself in sleep.

* * *

Wright had no clue why he suddenly woke up in the middle of the night. He glanced around the room groggily, eyes adjusting to the darkness of his office in what he assumed were the wee hours of the morning, lit only by the festive lights decorating Charley, Mia's favorite potted plant, the closest thing to a tree in the whole room. It took a moment of silent staring to notice a bit of movement by a humanoid form over by Charley. Rolling off the couch and leaping up to turn on the lamp, Phoenix pointed and yelled to confront the figure!

"HOLD I--!!"

But the attorney froze mid-point when the old, rotund man stood upright from putting something down by Charley. He patted his wide, full belly covered in a bright red coat with his white gloved hands, his mouth almost hiding in his tussled, curly white beard. This beard obscured but did not hide his bright, rosy cheeks, and a pair of tiny spectacles sat on the bridge of his nose. At his black booted feet was a large sack and many, many brightly-wrapped gifts. Turning his eyes on Wright, he chuckled softly.

"So it's you, Phoenix? It's been quite a while, child. Quite a cute tree this year, eh?"

Raising one eyebrow, Wright lowered his finger and stared.

"You...you're not..." Laughing heartily in joy, the man interrupted Wright's confused ramblings, but before he could say a word, Maya stumbled in from the door to her room. Her hair cascaded across her half-closed eyes and she was clad in a beautiful purple nightgown. Brushing her black hair from her eyes, she finally awoke with a start and clapped her hands.

"SANTA! I knew you'd come!"

"Ho ho ho! I was worried I wouldn't get to see you, young Maya!" laughed the cheerful spirit of Christmas.

Wright pointed his finger accusingly at Santa once more, now that he had his sense back. "Hang on, Santa, if that IS your real name, I'm afraid I have a small OBJECTION!" He shouted louder than neccesary.

"Goodness, Phoenix! You always were a confident boy. Go ahead, child, I'm listening!"

"Santa!" Maya yelped, "Don't let Nick scare you!" Her eyes misted up and her voice cracked. "And don't put him on the naughty list! Nick's a great guy at heart, and he doesn't mean--"

"Ho ho ho!" Santa laughed again, more cheerful than ever. "Nonsense, Maya! Phoenix has the right to question me! Go ahead, Phoenix!"

"Alright then, I know for a fact that you're not real! You're obviously just a guy in a costume! But not just any guy...I know exactly who you are!"

"Is that so, Phoenix?" Santa asked. "In that case, by all means, tell me who I am!"

"It's so clear! You're obviously--!"

The door burst open and a loud, cheerful voice shook the entire room.

"GUMSHOE IN THE HOUSE!" The ever-bamboozled detective sang happily, running into the room with his arms out, making airplane noises with his mouth for no apparent reason. When Gumshoe's eyes fell on Santa, he, impossibly, smiled even wider. "Santa! I'm so glad I caught ya, pal! I thought I'd miss you!"

"Nonsense, Gumshoe! I knew for a fact you'd remember our meeting time! Ho ho ho!" Saint Nick laughed once more.

"Ho ho ho!" Gumshoe joined in happily. "Ho ho ho!"

"Gumshoe?! You're saying you know...?!"

"Um, duh, pal! I told you, I'm one'a Santa's li'l helpers! And you didn't believe me, pal!" He said, continuing to laugh heartily with Santa. Wright just stared around the room.

"Okay, fine, so I was wrong about Gumshoe. But if it's not him, there's only one other person I know goofy enough to pull this stunt. And I know for a fact he's dressed as Santa before!" He stated. But before he could deliver any more accusations, his cell phone began to ring with his all-too-familiar ringtone from his desk. "...H-Hang on," he muttered, grabbing the phone and putting it up to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Nick!"

"LARRY?!"

"Dude! Can you believe the traffic out here tonight?"

"LARRY?!"

"Dude, you gotta tell me! Is Santa at your office?!"

"Uh..." Wright looked up at the smiling old man. "I...I suppose?"

"Damn! I knew he was gonna be there! He specifically told me to meet him at your office around this time to help him out again! Augh, just my luck! Larry, the big fat loser who's no use to anyone, not even Santa friggin' Claus!"

"...L-Larry...you don't mean...?"

"Dude! Beg for forgiveness for me! Let him know I still wanna be one of his little helpers! Without the big S.C., I got no hope all year long!"

"I...guess I could do that, Larry..."

"Big thanks! I knew you were my best pal! Merry Christmas, Nick! SORRY, SANTA!!" And then Larry hung up, and Wright let the phone fall to the floor.

"Well?" Santa asked, already knowing the answer.

"Larry...Larry says he's sorry for missing you," Wright muttered. "I can't believe it...not Gumshoe...not Larry...and there's no way...could it?" He shook his head violently. "No, no way. I can't believe I even considered it."

* * *

Sitting in a large, comfortable chair, reading a favorite book while sipping a glass of wine, Edgeworth looked up suddenly.

"I suddenly feel like I need to punch Wright when I see him next," he murmured, and then returned to his peace.

* * *

"I can't believe it. I just can't believe it," Wright muttered to himself over and over again. A familiar, white-gloved hand reached over and tapped his shoulder, and he looked up at Santa's smiling face.

"If you're up to it, Phoenix, I have...what would you call it? Ah, yes...I have decisive evidence that I'm the real deal," he said quietly. Without another word, he reached into his bag and pulled out a large, festively-wrapped box labeled "To: Phoenix - From: Santa". Taking it in his shaking hands, Wright slowly, methodically unwrapped his present, until every piece of paper was on the floor, and it was staring back at him through a plastic window.

"It's the Blue Power Pal," Wright whispered. "It's the Blue Power Pal." Smiling half from joy and half from guilt, Santa began to speak once more.

"I sorely meant to give this to you as a child when you deserved it, but..."

"Santa got me the Blue Power Pal," Wright interrupted. "I wasn't naughty. You didn't forget me. You were real all along,"

Smiling wider, Santa kneeled down to Wright's level and opened his arms wide. "Can you ever forgive me, Phoenix?"

Without a single word, Wright dropped his toy to the floor at his feet and embraced Santa in a massive, long overdue hug.

"Awww," cooed both Gumshoe and Maya, as the door burst open once more and another voice shouted from the doorway.

"YES!! I didn't miss him after all!" Larry Butz practically cartwheeled into Wright's increasingly cramped office to clasp his hands and kneel before Santa. "Oh please Big S.C., please please forgive me for being so late! Please let me keep being your little helper! It's all I live for!"

"Oh, just tell the dope okay before he explodes all over us," came another unidentified voice from the doorway. All eyes turned to see Edgeworth striding into the office, crossing his arms professionally. "Happy holidays, everyone. I supposed it would have been a good idea for me to come to see you all. You're all quite lucky I wasn't too busy."

"I bet we are!" giggled Maya, as Gumshoe chuckled.

"Same as always, sir...!"

"Wright? What are you curled up on the floor about?" Edgeworth asked. Wright stood up and held the boxed toy like one would a treasure.

"I got it. Santa brought me the Blue Power Pal after all these years," he stammered.

"The Blue Power Pal?!" Larry exclaimed. "WHOA! Talk about a blast from the past, huh?! No way! No foolin', I still got my Yellow Power Pal! Remind me to bring it next time! Hey, what about you, Edgey? Where's your Power Pal?"

"Are you kidding me, Larry?" Edgeworth scoffed, "You honestly believe me to have held onto such a stupid childhood fad toy after so many years? You honestly believe that?"

"Yeah," Larry said, simply.

Edgeworth stared at him, and finally sighed. "It's in the top drawer of my desk...I'll get it as soon as I can," he muttered, blushing very slightly.

"Edgeworth looks like a Red Power Pal to me!" Maya said, which incited a raucous round of laughter from all involved, except, of course, Edgeworth, who idly toyed with his cravat meekly. Once it all died down, Santa smiled at Wright.

"Well, Phoenix?"

"Okay...I'll admit it. I was wrong. You are real, Santa...and you're still amazing after all these years!"

"Hey!" Larry shouted, producing a camera, "I got the timer set! Let's all pose for a great holiday picture!" He set it down on Wright's desk and gathered Wright, Maya, Gumshoe, Edgeworth, and himself, all surrounding Santa in the middle. When the camera flashed and the picture was taken, Wright opened his arms wide.

"**Merry Christmas, and a happy holiday to all!**" He exclaimed, elicting cheers from all involved. Amidst the celebration and joy, Edgeworth tapped Wright's shoulder.

"Ah, Wright, I almost forgot something I had to do," he said.

"What's that, Edg--" was all Wright got out before Edgeworth punched him in the face.


End file.
